That's Amore
by Ellie Biel
Summary: It all started with a wrong number. HeeroDuo, AU.
1. Wrong Number

Title: Wrong Number  
Characters/pairing: Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy  
Warnings: AU  
Notes: Written for LJ community stagesoflove Stage 1: Attraction and as an attempt to tackle the second definition of attraction that was provided during Round 1.

* * *

Duo could blame himself for having such sloppy handwriting, but it was easier to say it was Quatre's fault. He'd scribbled down Quatre's new phone number in a hurry - he'd swear that his friend had a radar that told him just when Duo's bladder was painfully full, because he never failed to call him right at that very moment Duo was nearly racing toward the bathroom. Now that he was no longer shifting his weight from one foot to the other like he'd been two days ago, he had no idea if that was an eight or a nine at the end. 

It had to be a nine, he decided, one with a hurried little tail at the end from the haste with which he'd dropped the pen after he'd finally gotten Quatre off the phone.

He was completely caught off guard when he dialed and heard the monotone greeting "Pizza Pizza." If the voice on the other end hadn't sounded so different from Quatre's, he'd have assumed it was a joke, that his number had shown up on Caller ID and that Quatre had somehow known that Duo wasn't sure if he'd dialed correctly.

"I'm sorry," Duo said. "I think I have the wrong number."

"You're not trying to reach the hospital, are you?"

"What? No. Just looking for a friend." He smiled. "Sounds like you get wrong numbers a lot."

"Usually from people calling Saint Anthony's. Their number ends in a six; ours ends with a nine."

Duo glanced at his handset. "Ah, I see how that would happen. The six is right on top of the nine."

"Right where it belongs."

"Well, yeah, they do sort of put the keys in numeric order."

"There's that, too." The stranger sounded amused, and Duo couldn't help thinking that this was what women meant when they talked about a bedroom voice. It was definitely feeling warmer in the apartment.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you," Duo said, gripping the receiver tightly.

"No bother at all. Like you said, I get it all the time."

For some reason that didn't make Duo feel any better. "Uh huh. So, hey, I'd better get going. I told my friend I'd call him so we could get together for lunch today." There was no reason for him to share that much information. All he had to do was apologize, which he'd done, and hang up. He moved the phone to his other ear.

"Does your friend like pizza?"

"My friend will eat anything you put in front of him," Duo laughed. "Especially if you're paying for it."

He would swear he could hear the guy smile. "If you're near Emerson Street, bring him to Pizza Pizza. Tell them Heero sent you and they'll give you fifteen percent off."

"Heero, huh. That you?"

"Guilty."

"OK, Heero. Maybe I will."

There was a moment of silence, and Duo thought he must have had hit the flash button by mistake.

"Are you a vegetarian?" A pause, and then, "or your friend?"

"No."

"Good. I highly recommend the meat lover's."

"OK. I'll be sure to tell him."

"Twenty."

"Twenty?"

"Twenty percent off, but that offer is only good for today."

"I'll keep that in mind." Duo was glad he was using a cordless phone, because with all the pacing he'd started doing, he was sure he'd have the cord wound around his torso several times by now. After getting his braid knotted that way a few times, he tried to avoid corded phones at all costs.

"Thank you for calling Pizza Pizza. Have a nice day."

Duo stared at the phone in his hand, his mind processing that the phone call, if one could really consider it as such, had ended. He hit the Talk button twice and dialed what he hoped was Quatre's number, making sure to press the eight this time.

"Hey, Duo!" Quatre sounded quite cheerful today.

"Hey." Duo started playing with the seam of his wallpaper, where it was just starting to lift. "You hungry?"

"You offering to buy?"

"Sure."

"Where we going?"

Duo flicked at the wallpaper a few times. "You know, Quatre, I've just developed a craving for pizza..."


	2. Zen Pizza

Title: Zen Pizza  
Characters/pairing: Duo Maxwell/Heero Yuy  
Warnings: AU, innuendo, humor  
Notes: Written for LJ community stagesoflove, Round 2, Stage 2: Romance

* * *

"Interesting."

Duo was only half paying attention to Quatre and their lunch. He was far too busy trying to check out what the guy sliding pizzas into the brick oven in the back looked like.

He'd been a little crestfallen when they first got there, because the freckle-faced kid who took their order, while reasonably attractive in his own right, if too young and not at all Duo's type, was so different from what he'd pictured on the phone, that he'd nearly forgotten to mention the discount.

He ignored the amused looks Quatre gave him when the kid turned around and yelled over his shoulder "Heero! Your special Meat Lover's is up!"

Quatre disguised his snickering with a cough but Duo felt his face heat up as he pulled the money out of his pocket and slid it across the counter, mumbling "keep it" and heading over to the table with their sodas and leaving it up to Quatre to get the straws and napkins.

Duo had no trouble getting up and picking up the pizza when it was ready, but it was Quatre and his bottomless stomach who was already opening the box before Duo's ass had even touched his seat.

Quatre turned the box to the side so Duo could reach in and grab a slice of pizza as well, and gestured to the toppings.

"If this one had anchovies on it I'd think it might be for Pisces, but I guess this is more of a Zen pizza." Quatre wasted no time in pulling the slice out, leaving half the cheese in the box but looking completely unconcerned.

Out of the corner of his eye, Duo saw the kid pull his cell phone out of his pocket and leave the cash register to head toward the rest room, and he hoped Quatre was still fascinated with their pizza because he saw someone move away from the ovens to lean against the wall, cross his ankles and his arms, and look directly at them.

"Cheese," Duo said. "We can't have pizza without Parmesan cheese."

"And red pepper!" Quatre called after him, even though he was already reaching for a second slice.

"Heero?"

"In the flesh," the dark-haired man replied, and Duo felt his insides clench a little at the heated gaze.

Heero looked even better than Duo had imagined from just his voice, and he was surprised he wasn't melting into a puddle on the floor. Duo picked up the glass shaker of cheese and began rolling it between his hands.

"I'm Duo. Thanks for the discount."

"My pleasure," Heero replied, and Duo would swear he could feel the heat from the ovens even from here. "How are you enjoying your meal?"

The corners of Heero's mouth were curved up ever so slightly, and Duo hoped it wasn't amusement at his expense.

"It's good. Well, I've not actually eaten any yet," he said, the ridges on the glass shaker clicking against his class ring as he rolled it faster. Now he was sure Heero was smirking at him, and his face flooded with color as he realized Heero was looking right at his hands and the way he was handling the cheese. He stopped immediately and put it back on the counter, although his first instinct had been to hide it behind his back.

"You should," Heero said. The phone rang and Heero looked toward the rest rooms, looking a bit put out that there was no sign of the redhead. He reached for the phone, but before he answered it, told Duo, "And if you like it, come back again soon."

Duo nearly forgot to take the cheese and the red pepper, because Heero had stressed one of those words enough to know that the innuendo was completely intentional.

"It's good," Quatre said, and there were three pizza crusts sitting on his plate now.

"How can you eat it without the cheese?" The center of the box still had a good portion of the cheese where it had slid off each and every slice Quatre had removed from the box.

"It's still warm," Quatre shrugged. "It tastes good eating it just like this, too," and to demonstrate he pulled up some of the mozzarella, finally disturbing the artfully arranged bits of sausage.

Duo had been so nervous about finding out what Heero looked like, he'd not really paid much attention to Quatre's Zen pizza comment, but he did now, and he couldn't help grinning as he took his own slice of pizza from the box.

He'd let Quatre believe in his Zen pizza theory, but Duo knew it wasn't a yin-yang symbol. He saw the kid take his time heading back behind the counter and Heero looked over to meet Duo's gaze before going to the bake to remove the pizza he'd put in earlier.

Duo was almost too nervous to eat, but he picked a piece of sausage out of Quatre's cheese pile and popped it into his mouth, daring to wink at Heero and receiving another smirk and a nod in return.

Duo wasn't sure whether the slice he had was part of the six or part of the nine, but it didn't matter. As Heero had said earlier that day, it was right where it belonged.


	3. Two's Company

Title: Two's Company  
Characters/pairing: Heero Yuy/Duo Maxwell  
Warnings: AU  
Notes: Written for LJ community stagesoflove – Stage 3: passion, and the shoe's on the other foot now.

* * *

He'd lived with her long enough and recognized the signs. She was amused.

Oh, she'd been cooperative enough to promise that he'd have the apartment to himself, and with her hair twisted and sloppily pinned to her head instead of in twin braids, it looked like she was going to hit the gym while he entertained his guest.

That didn't mean she was going to make it easy for him.

She stopped in the kitchen with her sports bottle, but instead of going right to the new filter she'd insisted on fitting to the kitchen faucet, she opened the front of the oven and peeked inside, taking a deep whiff before closing it gently.

"What if I'd had a soufflé in there?"

Sally had her back to him as she filled her bottle but he didn't need to see her face to hear her laughter. "If you were going through all the effort of making something like that, I'd make sure I forgot something just so I'd have to come back for it and see who this lucky guy is."

She turned off the tap and screwed the top on the bottle. "On the other hand, I'm surprised. Meatloaf?"

Heero crossed his arms over his chest. "I made it myself."

Sally slung an arm over his shoulder and patted him on the arm. "The way to a man's heart, is it?"

In a way, that's exactly what it was. It was the promise of discounted food - although Sally had assured him it was his charisma and charm - that had lured Duo to the pizza parlor in the first place and given him a chance to ask Duo out. He'd not intended to invite Duo to his apartment, but the local bars and clubs had lost their appeal long ago, and dinner and a movie seemed unimaginative.

He'd not really expected Duo to accept his invitation, however, and that had left him with the options of either calling for pizza delivery or cooking dinner himself. Heero wasn't as worried about the meatloaf as he was about his roommate making good her departure before Duo arrived.

She ruffled his hair before she left and he sighed in relief when the door shut behind her, only to find himself pacing nervously and watching the clock. He couldn't believe he was almost regretting sending Sally out just to have someone to talk to and keep his mind off the fact that this was the first date he'd had in months.

All it took for him to regain his composure and stop pacing was the knock on the door.

* * *

"So how was dinner?"

Duo patted his belly appreciatively. "I've got no complaints."

"Wonderful. So, Heero, now that we know it's safe for human consumption, do you mind if I help myself?"

Sally didn't wait for an answer; she was already slicing off a rather large portion with a butter knife followed by a generous ladling of gravy. Duo had taken it rather well, Heero thought, when Sally had returned from the gym with a wink and an innocent "Am I interrupting anything?"

Heero had had to bite his tongue not to add "unfortunately" to the "no" he'd given in reply.

"You should send a thank you card to the trainers," Heero commented as he held his glass out toward her. "They've got to be the ones responsible for you retaining your girlish figure."

Sally grabbed the sprayer and pulled the hose out as far as it would go, taking careful aim and wagging one finger at him. "These are mature womanly curves, and you should be giving all that credit to me." She turned and pointed the sprayer at Duo. "Don't think I didn't hear you snickering. In this apartment anyone is fair game."

Heero had to bite his lip and avoid looking at Duo as he tried to look contrite but she rapped him on the knuckles with the ladle before giving him his glass, now filled with crystal clear water. He was glad she only mouthed "maybe he'll kiss your boo boo" because he might have ignored Duo in that case if only to let Sally know just who was the commander of the water hose in this kitchen.

Sally offered to eat in the living room but Duo would have none of it. In fact, he was completely at ease and chatted amiably with her, shooting an occasional wink in Heero's direction whenever the conversation treaded over the land of double entendre.

It was already getting dark out when Duo said he had to leave, and Heero walked him to the door. He knew that later Sally would be sure to give him a round of applause, while standing, and congratulate him on taking the marketing slogan "Never let them see you sweat" to heart, but right now she was tactfully getting up and moving toward her bedroom, giving them some much needed privacy.

"So," Duo said, his eyes roaming around the apartment but not staying in one place for long.

Heero crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "So."

"I had a good time, tonight, Heero. Thanks for inviting me."

"My pleasure."

"So...you think you might like to do this again sometime? Maybe my place?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Oh for the love of Pete!" Sally's voice rang out. "Kiss him already!"

The words were directed at Heero, but it was Duo who acted on them, slamming his hand on the doorframe right next to Heero's ear and leaning in to claim his lips.

Heero's eyes slid shut and his hand found Duo's hip as his shoulders slid down the frame a couple of inches. He'd think about strangling Sally later. Or maybe buying her flowers, whatever it was that women considered an appropriate gesture of thanks. He banished all thoughts of his roommate from his mind and put all his attention right where it belonged.

Fortunately Duo had the same idea.


	4. That's Amore

Title: That's Amore  
Characters/pairing: Heero Yuy/Duo Maxwell  
Warnings: AU, bad song references, humor  
Notes: Written for Stage 4: Intimacy, for LJ community stagesoflove

* * *

"You ever sing that song when you were little?" Duo asked, gesturing toward the sky with a sweep of his arm. "The Twinkle Twinkle Little Star one?"

"The one that has the same melody as the ABC Song."

Duo tapped Heero with his foot. "The very same."

"I have, but don't think that means I'm going to now." The rolling of the boat was peaceful and it sounded to Duo as if Heero was stifling a yawn.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Duo protested. "I happen to like having my eardrums intact, thank you."

Heero returned the tap Duo had given him earlier, only a little harder. As far as Duo was concerned, that meant the stakes had just been raised, and he sat up just enough to reach over the side of the boat and splash some water toward Heero.

In retaliation, Heero pushed himself up onto the bench and held onto the sides of the boat. "I guess that means it would be a shame if you got swimmer's ear," he said. The shiver down Duo's spine wasn't due to the implied threat, not even when Heero began rocking the boat, but because of the husky timbre in Heero's voice.

It was no wonder he'd been hooked from the moment he'd dialed that wrong number.

"You're forgetting who has the oars," Duo said, rattling them against the side of the boat. "Getting cuffed on the ears by one would probably put a damper on the evening."

"I've had worse dates," Heero said. One of his feet slid over until it was touching one of Duo's. "How about you?"

He and Heero had only been dating, and it was weird to think of it in those terms, for a couple of weeks. Dating, with a capital D, was one of those social rituals that Duo had found either relaxing and fun, or awkward and uncomfortable, and it was why he made it a rule to never allow anyone to set him up on blind dates. He'd rather lie in a bed of his own making.

That wasn't to imply that he'd slept with many of them, and he wished he'd not thought about it in those terms, because the moonlight was putting Heero's shoulders in sharp silhouette and Duo had to admit, the man looked fine.

He laced his hands behind his head and leaned back so he was again lying on the bottom of the boat. The boat rocked again as Heero pushed himself off the bench and they were both in the same position they'd been in before Duo had insulted Heero's singing.

"Star light, star bright..."

"First star I see tonight," Heero continued. Duo could hear the smile in his voice even if he couldn't see his face.

"Did you? Ever, I mean?"

"Wish on a star?" Heero sounded surprised at the question.

"Yeah."

"Of course. Didn't everyone, at least once?"

"If not, they should have. So, Heero, any of them ever come true?"

"I don't know. I suppose so. I don't think I ever wished for anything impossible. You?"

Duo opened his mouth to reply and realized he had no idea, either. Whatever he might have wished for back then had probably seemed important to him at the time. Although he knew he'd made wishes, not a single one came to mind.

"When you wish upon a star," Heero prompted from the other end of the boat.

"Makes no difference who you are," Duo replied. He gave Heero's shoulder a nudge with his foot. "So what do you think, Heero. Jiminy Cricket - wise advisor or boring pain in the ass?"

"I don't know. I can't think of Pinocchio anymore without remembering that joke."

"What joke- oooooh. _That_ joke." It took Duo a moment to realize Heero was laughing at him. It was silent, but he could feel the shaking of Heero's shoulders against his ankle. "Ha ha." He bit his lip, thought of and discarded a few other songs, and finally settled on the next one.

Cautiously, Duo said, "To reach the unreachable star..."

He thought maybe it wasn't a song Heero was familiar with. It wasn't exactly in the same league as the others, and then Heero's voice carried quietly over to him.

"This is my quest. To follow that star, no matter how hopeless."

"I'm impressed, Heero." It was an understatement. He was more than impressed, he was suddenly scared to death.

"My turn?"

"Your turn, Heero."

"Would you like to swing on a star?"

Duo frowned. He would swear they sang that in school once. "Is that the one with the line about the donkey?"

This time Heero's laughter wasn't silent. "Or would you rather be a mule."

Duo kicked him again.

Heero grunted. "How about a do over?"

"A do over? Did you just ask me for a do over? I thought that was only for games like freeze tag and Simon Says."

"There's no do over in Simon Says. If you ask for one out of turn you're automatically out."

"See, that's where you're wrong. You ask for the do over because you're already out of the game."

"Knock knock."

"You've got to be kidding me."

Heero ignored him and repeated, "Knock knock."

"Okay, I'll bite. Who's there?"

"Jose."

Duo didn't remember this one, but he rolled his eyes anyway. "Jose who?"

"Jose can you see."

"By the dawn's early light? Heero, that is _awful_. Really, truly, awful." It was awful, and it was almost cheating to work in the theme of "star" that way. Duo laughed anyway. He hadn't really been paying attention to the sky but somewhere in the past few minutes it appeared, the first star in the night sky.

Heero obviously noticed it, too. "You making a wish?"

Duo rotated his class ring around his finger as he contemplated what he would wish for, if he believed in that "wishes really do come true" malarkey. He stretched his arm in front of him, toward the star above. It really was an unreachable star. There was probably a song out there about reaching for a star and getting burned in the process. Or maybe he was thinking of pop stars burning out too early, but he liked the first idea better.

"Duo?"

"Yeah, Heero?"

"It's your turn."

"That it is, Heero. That it is." He dropped his arm across his stomach. "How about Burn, baby, burn?"

"If that's the song I'm thinking of, I don't know if it has the word 'star' in it."

Duo didn't think it did either - but it should.


	5. Twenty Years

Title: Twenty Years  
Characters/pairing: Heero Yuy/Duo Maxwell  
Warnings: AU, written in a blind panic with the clock ticking closer to midnight  
Notes: Written for Stage 5: Commitment, for stagesoflove

* * *

Duo let out a sound of frustration. "These things never work right!" He should have known by now. He'd made a souvenir coin a long time ago, when the entire fourth grade class had gone on a field trip and he'd stuffed the machine full of quarters in order to get a personalized coin with his name and birthday on it.

He'd told himself then he was stupid for assuming the letter hadn't printed, just because it looked like that way. All his friends had double letters in their coins, and so did he.

So did the coin he was creating now.

"Shut up," he said before Heero could say a word. "I know."

He wasn't even sure he knew what was so special about these coins. The ones Heero had gotten - the ones where you fed in a penny and some quarters and it rolled the penny into an oval - at least those were trinkets that you could look at in a year and remember where you'd gotten it from.

Heero handed Duo his overnight bag and they left the airport.

It was late by the time they got back to Heero's apartment. Sally had been good enough to pick them up after their weekend trip and Duo hadn't realized how tired he was now that he was sitting down again until the car stopped moving and the interior light went on. He blinked open his eyes and felt Heero's unshaved cheek against his chin. It appeared he wasn't the only one who had dozed on the way here.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Sally whispered to Duo as she handed him Heero's keys. "I'm taking my car over to a friends for the night."

Heero was leaning on him heavily and when Duo got the door open, they just threw their luggage to the side and stumbled to the couch, kicking off their shoes and falling onto the cushions.

It felt nice, Heero's head on his shoulder, and just when he was on the verge of falling asleep again, Heero got up.

"Heero?"

Heero got up and stretched, yawning loudly as he did. "Bathroom," he mumbled. He flicked his gaze to Duo's and suddenly didn't look very tired at all. "Bedroom?"

There had been two beds in their hotel room, and both of them had been used. Duo wasn't sure he was ready for anything more at this stage of the game, but he had just spent a weekend with Heero, and appearances aside, they were both too tired to do anything.

He was too tired to even take off his pants.

He nodded and followed Heero down the hall, where he waited for Heero to use the bathroom first and decided better to go now than have to wake up in a couple hours to take a piss.

It always happened during the best parts of his dreams, too.

When he joined Heero in the bedroom, he found he wasn't too tired to be nervous. Heero had changed out of his jeans and into a pair of sweatpants, and he was playing with something in one hand.

Duo went to the other side of the bed and sat down. "Coming?"

Heero nodded and joined him on the bed where he leaned close. "You've got something behind your ear," he said, and he reached behind to display a brassy colored coin. He handed it to Duo, plopped down on his pillow, and closed his eyes.

"What's this?" Duo asked. He turned it over. HEEERO YUUY -MARCH2 9

Duo laughed. "How long have you had this thing?"

"Dunno," Heero mumbled. "Twenty years?"

It seemed about right. Duo rubbed at the worn letters with his thumb and put the coin in his pocket with the one he'd made at the airport. It wasn't the first time he'd had to sleep in his clothes. He stretched out on the bed next to Heero and reached over him to turn off the lamp, giving him a short but sloppy kiss on the cheek.

Heero grunted in annoyance, but Duo hadn't turned off the lamp before he saw the corners of his lip turn up.

Duo patted the coins in his pocket. Twenty years.

It sounded like a plan to him.


End file.
